"Good," he said then he was gone, boots echoing down the corridor.
Yu Xi stared at the sweet cake in his hands. "…I wasn't planning to," he muttered.
Yu Xi had never believed in softness. Not since the day he lost his mother. Not in the kind that didn't come with a price. Not in the kind that didn't rot beneath the surface. His life had been forged in the marrow of cruelty, shaped by the iron hush of cells that never saw the sun. Since her death, his world had been rusted, bloodied, and desolate. He only lived for his brother.
Until today.
Until he saw this man.
At the time Yu Xi stared. He didn't mean to, but he couldn't look away. Jian Ci moved with a brightness that felt alien in this place. Carefree, confident, like the world hadn't tried to break him. Unlike Yu Xi, born in dirt and raised in pain, Jian Ci looked like someone who had been loved, protected and cherished.
Yu Xi had no future. Jian Ci looked like he was the future. He was dazzling like an angel who had wandered into the abyss by mistake. And Yu Xi, buried in the deepest dark, felt himself drawn to that light like a moth to flame. It was irrational. Immediate. It was love at first sight, though he didn't even know it.
He looked down at the sweet cake packet Jian Ci had given him. He wanted to keep it forever, the first thing anyone had given him without cruelty attached. But he remembered Jian Ci's warning. Not wanting to get him in trouble, Yu Xi stood and scrubbed his hands with the water, watching it run red down the drain.
After what felt like an eternity, he sat back down, tore open the packet, and took a small bite.
It was unlike anything he had ever tasted. It was sweet and soft. Just like the person who gave it to him.
***
Jian Wei stepped into the bedroom and froze.
The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood. The walls were streaked crimson, the bed reduced to splinters beneath what remained of a body. Gander's corpse was barely recognizable. His limbs were twisted, torso torn open, face a ruin of flesh and bone.
Jian Wei's voice was low, stunned. "What did that? A beast?"
Jian Rui stood near the shattered window, arms crossed, jaw tight. "Not possible. It has to be a high-ranking Esper."
Jian Wei turned to him, eyes sharp with accusation. "You were supposed to bring him in alive."
"I came to capture him," Jian Rui replied, voice clipped. "Not kill him."
"Shit...," Jian Wei muttered. He raised his hand, tapping the air. A floating screen shimmered into existence, casting pale light over the carnage. He scanned the body, fingers flying across the interface. "There are no echo neurons intact. There are no fucking memories to retrieve." He exhaled sharply. "He is useless."
Footsteps echoed behind them. Jian Ci entered, his stride faltering as he took in the scene. "Is that Gander?"
"Yep," Jian Wei said without looking up.
Jian Ci crouched beside the corpse, tilting his head, eyes gleaming with a strange curiosity. "How messy," he said in a calm tone.
Jian Rui's voice was tight with frustration. "We were this close. Now how are we supposed to find out what he knew?"
Jian Wei stood grimly, gesturing toward the lifeless body slumped against the blood-smeared wall. "According to the intel we have, this is his research assistant."
The woman's body was naked, bruised, discarded like refuse. Jian Rui's jaw clenched. "I need to know who the hell did this."
Jian Ci scoffed, his voice laced with venom. "And give them a fucking medal."
Both Jian Wei and Jian Rui turned to him, disbelief etched across their faces. They had come here to capture Gander alive, to extract the knowledge that might save Jian Ci and possibly their mother. Yet the one who should be most desperate for a cure stood there, unbothered.
Jian Ci met their gaze, his expression hard. "You should have seen what that filth kept in the lower levels. Abducted women, all guides, and children, he raped the women to get. This death was too fucking easy."
Jian Rui's face darkened. He had read from the intel that there were children, but he didn't think this was how he was getting them. No wonder there were no missing reports on children but only women associated with this case.
"What's their condition?" he asked quietly.
"Bad," Jian Ci replied. "They have scars everywhere from the injections. They were born here so they don't even know what the sun looks like."
Jian Rui turned to the doorway and called out, "Get the medical team here. Now."
The man outside nodded. "Yes, sir," and hurried off.
Jian Wei scanned the room, his expression unreadable but his voice sharp. "We need to know who did this. This isn't the kind of person we can unleash into the world without monitoring them."
Jian Ci stood silently, gaze fixed on the mangled remains. He knew who it was. And he didn't blame him. If anything, he thought Yu Xi should have been crueller.
"I have an idea who it is," Jian Ci said, voice low.
Jian Rui turned to him, concern flickering in his eyes. "Did they hurt you?"
"No," Jian Ci replied, rising to his feet.
Jian Wei moved toward the door. "I found traces of blood," he said. Though the scene had been wiped clean, the biochemical scan revealed what the naked eye couldn't. He stepped into the hallway, Jian Rui and Jian Ci following close behind.
They stopped at a closed door. Jian Wei opened it, revealing a storage room. He scanned the space, then pointed at an old vent. "There."
Jian Ci crouched and opened the vent. Jian Wei handed him a small device. He activated it and tossed it inside.
Six spider-like robots skittered into the darkness.
Minutes later, the brothers stood in the cell where Jian Ci had first found Yu Xi. Jian Rui held up a bloodied shirt retrieved from the vent by the robots, his face grim. "This is a hell hole."
Jian Wei's fury simmered beneath his calm exterior. The conditions these people had endured were beyond ruthless.
Jian Ci crossed his arms, eyes cold. "I told you you would be mad. That bastard should've died a long time ago."
***
Ten minutes later, the lab door creaked open and Jian Wei and Jian Rui stepped inside. The young man with long hair sat quietly on the bench, his posture obedient, his expression unreadable. He looked like someone who had already accepted whatever fate awaited him.
Jian Rui walked over and placed the bloodied shirt on the table with deliberate weight. He met Yu Xi's gaze. There was no surprise in Yu Xi's eyes. He had already guessed who they were. The resemblance to Jian Ci was subtle but unmistakable especially in the way Jian Rui carried himself.
"You must be Yu Xi," Jian Rui said, pulling up a stool and sitting across from him.
Yu Xi nodded.
"I am Jian Rui," he continued, gesturing to the man leaning against the workbench. "And that's Jian Wei."
Jian Wei gave a casual wave, eyes sharp behind his relaxed posture.
Yu Xi immediately understood what Jian Ci had meant when he said "smart." Jian Wei's gaze was calculating and precise.
"You killed Gander," Jian Rui said.
Before Yu Xi could respond, Jian Ci strolled in, holding a cup of ramen with the lid still sealed. "It was a well-deserved death," he said, voice light. "I would have done worse to him."
Jian Rui shot him a look that clearly said, Not now.
Jian Ci ignored it and tossed a packet of dried fruit toward Yu Xi. Yu Xi caught it with ease.
Jian Wei raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you weren't a pig in your past life?"
Jian Ci grinned. "A well-fed one."